wine time!

Ok, I haven't blogged about my winemaking hobby before, so it's about time.

I love wine. I love making wine. It's a great science hobby plus, you get to consume what you produce! :) :)

I've made about 16 gallons in the last two years and I've poured out some real crap, but I've made some stuff recently that was just fantastic!

Niagra / apple white blend - "Summer White"
Blackberry 07 - only ONE bottle left!!! AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Luna Rossa - Italian amarone style - YUMO!!! (This is Melissa's favorite) - Let's put it this way...I've only TWELVE bottles left out of THIRTY!!
Orange Mead - pretty good but WAY too sweet for me.
Mango citrus symphony - it's good, but I'm just not into sweet white wines anymore.
Port - this one is going to sit for a year before I crack the first bottle. It's already bulk aged in the carboy since April 08 so (three months down, 8 to go).

Wines I'll be making this fall and winter...
6 gallons of blackberry
3 gallons of niagra
6 gallons of apple (3 gal will be blended with the niagra, the other 3 will be back sweetened and sparkled)
6 gallons of blueberry
6 gallon white merlot/strawberry kit I have left over
6 gallons of orange mead for my friends (yes, Harvey's...that's YOU!)
6 gallons of chambourcin
6 gallons of luna rossa

Why so much? Well, the blackberry, blueberry, chambourcin and luna rossa need to sit for at least a year before drinking. This way, I can make different wines the next year and have a nice collection of ready to drink wines and lots of stuff to share!

blessing blessing blessing

Funny. We never ask 'why' when we're blessed and often times we forget to say 'thank you'. Well THANK YOU GOD for all the blessings past, especially present, and future.

All within the last three weeks....
We closed on our new house in Lathrop.
We got the old house rented out to great people.
We heard that we'll finally know about Anthony on Aug 26th.
I got a NEW JOB that will be a GREAT challenge and very financially rewarding (about time!)

It's almost overload....but I'll take it! :D